Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California · Page 6

FRI., MAY 7-SAT., MAY 8, 1993 Sports THE UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL To report •port* rww« telephone S»«v« Guwtln, 468-3521 DIGEST Alumni football between Willits and Ukiah High gets scheduled An alumni football game between graduates from Ukiah and Willits high schools has been scheduled for 7:45 p.m. July 10 at the Ukiah High School football field. The Willits/ Ukiah game will follow an alumni game between Cloverdale and Fort Bragg. Directors Bob Cazet and Rick Chapman are organizing the Ukiah squad, and graduates are still needed to make up the 40-man roster. Anyone interested in playing in the alumni game should call Cazet or Chapman at 539-7850 for information. Co-ed softball tournament gets scheduled A Ukiah co.-ed softball tournament has been scheduled for Saturday, May 22 at the women's softball fields, located next to Pomolita Middle School. Each team entered is guaranteed at least three gam'es during the one-day tournament, which is open to everybody. The fee. is $130 per team, with a $30 down payment required before the first game. For more information, call Ray Whittaker at 744-1116. Hometown tennis begins May 22 The Hometown Tennis Tournament kicks off May 22 and will run through May 30 at the Ukiah High School tennis courts. The entry fee is $10 per event per person and must be in no later than May 15. Entries can be mailed in to City of Ukiah, 300 Seminary Aye., Ukiah, Calif. 95482. For more information, call 463-6237. TRIVIA Who hit the first home run in the history of Oriole Park? (answer at bottom of schedule) SCHEDULE FRIDAY BASEBALL • Ukiah High at Montgomery High (3:30 p.m.) • Mendocino High at Potter Valley High (2:30 p,m.) • Willits High varsity at Upper Lake High (4 p.m.) SOFTBALL , • Willits High at Upper Lake High (4 p.m.) • Mendocino High at Potter Valley High (2:30 p.m.) LITTLE LEAGUE • P.V. Health Center vs. McDonald's (NU, 6 p.m.) • Dodgers vs. Blue Jays (SU, 5:30 p.m.) PONY LEAGUE • Blue Jays vs. Cardinals (5:45 p.m.) • .White Sox vs. A's (8 p.m.) SATURDAY BASEBALL • Mendocino College at Contra Costa College (11 a/' TRACK • Ukiah High in Viking Classic at Santa Rosa Junior College (9 a.m.) • Willits High in Viking Classic at SRJC (9 a.m.) LITTLE LEAGUE • Ukiah Lions vs. Broiler at MC (NU, 10 a.m.) • Valley Paving vs. Gino's at MC (NU, noon) • Louisiana Pacific vs. Savings Bank at MC (NU, 2 p.m.) • Mets vs. Giants (SU, 4 p.m.) PONY LEAGUE • Dodgers vs. Angels (9 a.m.) • A's vs. Braves (11 a.m.) • Pirates vs. Twins (1 p.m.) • Mets vs. Blue Jays (3 p.m.) • Red Sox vs. Giants (5 p.m.) (Answer: (Paul Sorrento hit (be first home run in Baltimore's Oriole Park, otherwise known as Camden Yards, back on April 8, 1992.) NFL, players reach agreement NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time since 1982, the NFL and its players' union have agreed on a collective bargaining agreement. If ratified, the seven-year pact will bring to an end the labor strife that has plagued the league since 1987. The agreement, announced Thursday night, gives the players substantial increases in pensions, further liberalizes free agency and boosts payments to players whose lives were radically altered by football-related injuries. Players who have agreed to join the union will begin voting on the contract immediately. The league's management council unanimously approved the agreement Thursday on behalf on the 28 clubs. The NFL's laiest labor problems began in September 1987, when a five-year contract expired. The players went on strike, but the owners fielded replacement teams and the strike failed after a little less than a month. Players have been performing without a collective bargaining contract ever since. The biggest issue separating the two sides was free agency, but a settlement last January gave several hundred players the right to change teams. The owners and union began face-to-face bargaining in mid-March after the union was re-certified. "This agreement sets a foundation for the continued prosperity and growth of the NFL and its players as the premier sports league in America,!' Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw said in a joint statement The agreement spells out details of benefits and work rules that had not been changed since the old contract was reached in 1982. "We're grateful that we've finally come to the end of a long and winding road," said Doug Allen, assistant executive director of the union. The agreement provides for each team to increase its spending on benefits from $4.04 million hi 1993 to $6.6 million in 1999. Allen said the 28 teams spent an average of $2.8 million on player benefits in 1992. The contract also modifies free agency rules. In the January agreement, each team was allowed to designate a "franchise player" who could not be signed by another team. The only franchise players who were free to leave were those involved in litigation against the league. Reggie White left Philadelphia for Green Bay and Tim McDonald of Phoenix signed with San Francisco. Under the new agreement, some franchise players will be able to change teams, with the old team receiving two first-round draft picks as compensation. This year's franchise players must be offered a contract by June IS worth at least the average salary of the five highest paid players at his position, based on contracts signed through May 6. Or, the club can maintain its original offer to the player and allow him until July 15 to seek offers from other teams. Beginning in 1994, all options regarding franchise players begin on March 1. The two sides said the agreement contains the most extensive benefits plan in professional sports. It covers everything from life insurance to pensions to meal money. For instance: — Current player pension benefits will increase 100 percent during the seven years, and a post- career 401-K plan will be created for players and their families. Former players already receiving their NFL pension will get an immediate . 40 percent increase. — Disability benefits for players seriously injured during a game will increase drastically. Former Detroit Lion Mike Utley, paralyzed from the neck down in a 1991 game, received an annual disability payment of $48,000. That figure will increase immediately to $100,000 and will rise to $200,000 in 1999. — Players who are now crippled by the degenerative effects of their football injuries, like former Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto, will have their annual benefits increased from $9,000 a year to $75,000. — Life insurance will be increased from $100,000 to $200,000 for five-year veterans. Eagle rally wins final home game >*r?;«w»rsv">,;*" - •>" '$&*&&&#$>#&" « -••^' : - </. -v , !« /,<x >'.<*^'* *" v *'•- » • » - Eagle leadoff hitter Pat Pethel pushs a bunt up the first base line In Thursday's game against Consumnes River. A dramatic two-out rally gave the Eagles the win 5-2 In their final home game. Their final game will be Sunday at Contra Costa where the Eagles will try for a .500 record In league play. By STEVE GUERTIN Journal sports editor Thursday's final home game • for the Mendocino Eagle base- . ball team couldn't have gone any better had the Eagles written the script themselves. The Eagles, trailing 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, rallied for five runs in a dramatic 5-2 victory over Cosumnes River at Mendocino College. After the victory, the Eagles met with head coach Kevin Smallcomb for a short pep talk, then climbed all over each other . in a display of emotion usually saved for a playoff game. "It felt good," said outfielder Ken Carter, who scored the first run in the eighth. "We were due." "It's a pickup," added first baseman Aaron Ford, whose three-run triple brought home the game winner. "Right now we're playing for pride. It's enjoyable. It was my last game here and it was nice to go out with a win." Ford was joined by sopho- .mores Carter, Chris Brunemeyer, Pat Pethel and Rod Wilburn as Eagles who played for the last time at Mendocinp College. All five saw ample playing time against Cosumnes River. It looked like the Eagles were going to send their fans home disappointed, blowing several good scoring opportunities in the first seven innings before finally getting on the scoreboard. Down by two, Carter led off the eighth with a walk. Kevin Dobson sacraficed him to second and Jake Spring flied to left for the second out Then the curtain rose! Pethel singled home Carter to make it 2-1, and Andre Guzman, Troy Logan and Wilbum worked consecutive walks to tie the game. Ford then smacked an 0-2 pitch to deep right-center field that cleared the bases and gave Mendocino a three-run advantage. "My frame of mind when I got tip there was to just hit it, and it worked," Ford said. "It was an 0-2 count and I figured he'd pitch me to the outer half (of the plate), and he did" Dale Ingham relieved in the ninth and set Cosumnes down in order, striking out two to get the save. Freshman righthander Mike Wilson pitched 2 1 A innings of middle relief to get his first college victory. Wilson struck out five and allowed only one hit. Getting the clutch hitting in the eighth was just what Smallcomb wanted to see from his group of young prospects. "We've been waiting and waiting for the offense to get going, and today it finally did," Smallcomb said. "This was a big win for us. The freshmen are finally playing like sophomores and the sophomores' are finally playing like juniors. We may not be in the playoffs, but we're beating some pretty good teams." The Eagles (25-18) are now 11 -12 in the Bay Valley Conference and will gun for the .500 mark Saturday at Contra Costa in the final game of the season. McGwire homer beats Boston's Clemens UHS swimmers split meets with Finer By The Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Mark McGwire finally won a confrontation against Roger Clemens. Until he came to the plate in the fourth inning Thursday, McGwire had gone 1-for 29 against Clemens. He finally hit his first homer off the Red Sox right-hander, a two- out blast over the wall in left-center field that started Oakland toward a 6-3 win that earned them a split of a two-game series. "It's no big deal. I got two hits and two home runs," said McGwire, who also homered leading off the eighth against Clemens' reliever, Greg Harris. "Sometimes when a guy has your number, you have to try to do something to change that. Today I was just trying not to think about it and go up there and get a hit." Clemens said he was only glad the first McGwire homer didn't do any more damage than one run "Fortunately nobody's on base, so when he does nil a ball like that, it really can't hurt you beyond giv- ing up thai one run," said Clemens, The damage for Clemens would come later when he surrendered run-scoring triples to Mike Bordick in the fifth and Rubin Sierra in the decisive sixth, when Oakland scored three runs. "I really think I left a lot of balls in the middle. Tony (Pena) kept coming out and talking about the four-seamer. It was almost moving too much," Clemens said of his location with pitches. While he has been able to shut down McGwire over the years, Clemens hasn't been as successful against Oakland, the only team he has a losing record against — 5-10 in 20 career starts. "That's one of those stats that's just a freak," said Oakland manager Tony La Russa, whose team trailed 3-0 after two innings on a Carlos Quintana RBI single in the first and Billy Hatcher's two-run single in the second. "I think you would have been a fool if you liked our chances today See ATHLETICS, Page 7 *y QLENN BWCKSON ' ' School fttaritt* is imd Dol' coach; and UHS -ft&ji&ttflt Steve Guertin Ironman Denny is headed for Hawaii Anyone who says hard work never pays off hasn't met Ukiah's Doug Denny. Denny, the 26-year-old owner and manager of Ukiah's 'Denny Bicycles', has had a goal in mind the past couple of years. He wanted to go to Hawaii. Sure, the sun and surf were just what any 26-year-old guy would want, but that's not what he was interested in. Instead, Denny wants to run, swim and ride a bike against the best athletes in the country. Last weekend at the Monterey County Wildflower Longcourse Triathlon, Denny did what it took to see his dream come alive. Denny completed the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in a time of four hours and 33 minutes, taking second place and qualifying for the Gatorade Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii on Oct. 30. The Gatorade Ironman Triathlon is the most prestigious of the many biathlons around the world. Denny will most likely be seen on national television in November. For athletes like Denny, this is the big time! "I was real happy," Denny said. "It takes quite a few years to gel your body to perform at that level. It takes time for your body to adapt." Denny got into trialhlons about" six years ago .when he was attending the University of California, San Diego. Denny, who loves to surf, found that swimming in the school's pool was a good way to work out when the surf wasn't up. Swimming in the pool with him were some of the best triathletes in the world, training for events like the one Denny qualified for last weekend. That got him started, and he's been training hard ever since. I've been racing every weekend," said Denny, who competed in a triathlon in New Zealand back in March and finished 89th out of 700 world- reknowned competitors. "I set out in Monterey to qualify for the Gatorade Ironman. It's a goal I've had for a long time." .Denny works out at Redwood Health Club and strengthens his legs by running "off road" in the hills of Ukiah. He works on his bike riding skills by taking round trips to and from places like Boonville, Willits and even Lake County, and Master Swimmer Neal Fischer helps him with his swimming technique. A typical day for Denny has him aggressively working out five hours a day. "I like the lifestyle," Denny said. "I like being able to eat all the time, too. The variety of the terrain right in my backyard, as well as the natural beauty of the area, makes it a great place to train." On top of his training, Denny manages to keep 'Denny Bicycles' a contributing buis- ness in the community. His sister Kristi and brother-in-law Scott Duncan handle the retail and manufacturing side of the business with Denny, and the business often donates bicycles to worthy local causes. Denny even came out with his own style of racing bike, a work of an he designed, manufactured and often competes with. Denny hopes to expand the manufacturing of the racing bike for sale across the country. That's a lot for a kid only a few years removed from college. Alter Hawaii, Denny has even bigger plans. He wants to make the U.S. National Duatha- lon team, where he'll be able to compete against the best in die world in such far-off places as Paris and Canada. C g i